Ball and socket joints transmit and absorb forces from several directions. They are used, for example, in the manufacture of vehicles in the area of the steering or the track rod. Bearings of this class comprise essentially a pivot pin, at one end of which a ball is formed, a shell accommodating the ball of the pivot as well as a joint housing receiving the shell and parts of the ball pivot. The ball of the ball pivot slides in the prestressed, permanently lubricated shell, which is protected by the housing against moisture and dirt. The joint housing is, moreover, protected additionally by a sealing bellows against dirt as well as against the escape of the lubricant on its side on which it is open for receiving the pivot. A rear-side opening of the joint housing, which is, moreover, frequently provided, is closed by a closing cover. The above-mentioned joint components are usually manufactured separately and subsequently fitted together in an assembly process. However, this can be considered to be disadvantageous in respect to the assembly effort.
A process, in which the joint shell is placed on the ball of the pivot pin and the complete arrangement obtained as a result is extrusion coated to fix the components and to form a joint housing, has therefore already been known from DE 195 13 714 C1. However, the procedure described in the document implies the risk that the joint shell is pressed by the pressure occurring during the extrusion coating with the housing onto the joint ball such that it will be in contact with it over its full surface. However, an excessively large contact surface disadvantageously leads to an undesired increase in the torque and overturning moment.